2 minute read
Secondary Music
HEAD OF SECONDARY
ACADEMIC MUSIC
Mrs Sascha Dallas
You may remember me telling you about our Podcasting topic in last term’s newsletter. Well this term our KS3 students have been busy composing a ‘jingle’ to accompany their podcast.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT JINGLE?
Music has a way of somehow embedding itself into your psyche doesn’t it? Perhaps this is why companies use jingles to help sell their products to us. A catchy jingle is short and easy to remember, making them perfect for advertising products and making us want to spend our money. Over the past few weeks our KS3 students have been listening to famous jingles and identifying exactly what makes them so catchy and memorable. Students were aiming to compose something short and simple that would be instantly recognisable to the listener. We are so fortunate to have access to online composing software programs like soundtrap.com and flat.io, which means that, despite not being able to access the Music Department at the moment, students can still compose in the classroom each week. We have been really impressed by the standard of composition this year, many students have stepped out of their comfort zone and challenged themselves to compose music despite not necessarily being a practising musician. If you have a child in KS3 then please do take the time to listen to their work.
Look at these famous company logos. Would you recognise their JINGLES?
Exams Exams Exams…
Over the past few weeks all of our secondary students have been busy preparing for and sitting their end of year exams, and Music is no different. You might be wondering what an academic Music exam actually looks like for a student? Well, this year we were able to offer an online listening exam to all of our KS3 students, which involved listening to 5 pieces of music from various styles and genres, including Musical Theatre, Film Music, Blues, Minimalism and orchestral music. Students then answered questions about what they were hearing, using musical terminology like Dynamics, Tempo, Pitch and Texture. Why not test yourself by clicking on this link and answering the questions below:
click here to try an exam question
1.
3. Which FAMILY of instruments plays throughout this extract?
2.
Can you describe the PITCH at the start of this extract? Which GENRE of film do you think this extract was taken f rom?
Due to the challenges of the past year our GCSE and A level students had a slightly different approach to their exam series this term. BSAK were able to provide a rigorous and thorough assessment program for these students which has enabled them to prove their abilities, despite not being able to sit their exams under normal conditions. We have been so impressed by the way our students have handled the disruption of the past year, and commend them on their resilience.
